Chapter 01

Managing and manager’s job

1) Management:
A set of activities (including planning and decision making, organizing, leading, and
controlling) directed at an organization’s resources (human, financial, physical, and
information), with the aim of achieving organizational goals in an efficient and effective
manner.

2) Efficient:
Using resources wisely and in a cost-effective way.

3) Effective:
Making the right decisions and successfully implementing them.

4) The Management Process (What do Managers do?):

🔹 1. Planning & Decision Making – “What do we want to achieve?”

This is the starting point. Managers will be setting an organization’s goals and deciding how
best to achieve them.
• A clear plan helps avoid confusion and saves time.

📌 Example: A business plans to increase profits by launching a new product. So, they
research the market, set a budget, and create a timeline.

🔹 2. Organizing – “How will we do it?”

Once the plan is ready, it’s time to organize everything - people, machines, budget,
information, etc.
• It’s about building a structure so that everyone knows what they have to do.
 • Managers assign work, set up teams, and make sure everything is ready to go.

📌 Example: The company forms a product team, a marketing team, and a delivery team —
all with clear responsibilities.

🔹 3. Leading – “Let’s make it happen!”

Managers must motivate and guide the team to do their jobs well.
• This includes communication, teamwork, conflict resolution, and leadership.
• A good leader keeps the team inspired and focused.

📌 Example: The manager motivates the marketing team with clear instructions, regular
feedback, and by solving any team conflicts.

🔹 4. Controlling – “Are we on track?”

Finally, managers check whether the actual results match the plan.
• If something goes wrong, they take corrective actions to fix it.
• This step helps improve performance and avoid losses.

📌 Example: If sales are lower than expected, the manager might adjust the strategy,
improve customer service, or increase advertising.

5) Kinds of Managers by level & area

LEVEL:
1. Top Managers
Top managers make up the relatively small group of executives who are responsible for the
overall direction and strategy of the organization.
Titles: CEO, President, Vice President, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chief Marketing
Officer (CMO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
• Main Responsibilities:
o Setting Goals and Vision
o Major Decision-Making
o Representation
o Resource Allocation
• Characteristics:
They define the organization’s long-term strategy, make critical decisions about the
future, and represent the company to external stakeholders.
2. Middle Managers
Middle managers bridge the gap between top-level executives and lower-level managers by
translating strategy into actionable plans.
• Titles: Regional Manager, Department Head, Plant Manager, Operations Manager,
Division Head.
• Main Responsibilities:
o Implementing Policies
o Supervision and Coordination
o Monitoring and Reporting
o Problem-Solving
• Characteristics:
They ensure that top management’s strategies are executed effectively, monitor
performance, and resolve operational issues that arise within departments or teams.
3. First-Line Managers
First-line managers are directly responsible for managing the day-to-day operations and
overseeing employees' work. They supervise and coordinate the activities of operating
employees.
• Titles: Supervisor, Team Leader, Store Manager, Office Manager, Shift Supervisor.
 • Main Responsibilities:
o Direct Supervision
o Daily Operations
o Employee Management
o Handling Routine Issues
• Characteristics:
First-line managers ensure smooth daily operations, supervise operational employees,
and handle any immediate problems or conflicts that arise within the organization.
AREA OF MANAGEMENT:
Regardless of their level, managers may work in various areas within an organization. These
include:
1. Marketing Managers (Focus on promoting and delivering products/services to
customers.)
Marketing managers work in areas related to the marketing function—getting consumers and
clients to buy the organization’s products or services. These areas include new-product
development, promotion, and distribution.
2. Financial Managers (Manage the organization’s money and assets)
Financial managers deal primarily with an organization’s financial resources. They are
responsible for activities such as accounting, cash management, and investments.
3. Operations Managers (Oversee systems and processes that produce goods or services)
Operations managers are concerned with creating and managing the systems that produce an
organization’s products and services. Responsibilities include production control, inventory
control, quality control, plant layout, and site selection.
4. Human Resource Managers (Manage the employee life cycle in the organization)
Human resource managers are responsible for hiring and developing employees. They are
involved in human resource planning, recruiting, training, compensation and benefit systems,
performance appraisals, and discharging low-performing employees.
5. Administrative Managers (Generalists who manage across multiple areas without
specializing)
Administrative (or general) managers are not associated with any particular management
specialty. They have basic familiarity with all functional areas of management and often hold
positions like hospital or clinic administrators.
6. Other Kinds of Managers (Handle specialized functions within the organization)
Many organizations have specialized management positions,
o Public relations managers.
o International operations managers.
 o Research and development (R&D) managers.
o Internal consultants.

6) Managerial Roles and Skills:

Managerial Roles

Interpersonal Roles
The roles of figurehead, leader, and liaison, which involve dealing with other people.
1. Figurehead – The manager carries out ceremonial or symbolic functions like
attending ribbon-cutting ceremonies.
2. Leader – Involves hiring, training, and motivating employees.
3. Liaison – Serves as a coordinator or link among people, groups, or organizations.

Informational Roles
The roles of monitor, disseminator, and spokesperson, which involve the processing of
information.
1. Monitor – Actively seeks information that may be of value.
2. Disseminator – Transmits relevant information back to others in the workplace.
3. Spokesperson – Formally relays information to people outside the unit or
organization.

Decisional Roles
The roles of entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, and negotiator, which
relate primarily to making decisions.
1. Entrepreneur – Voluntary initiator of change.
2. Disturbance Handler – Responds to problems or crises.
3. Resource Allocator – Decides how resources are distributed.
4. Negotiator – Enters into negotiations as a company representative.
Managerial Skills
1. Technical Skills:
These are the skills necessary to accomplish or understand the specific kind of work
being done in an organization.
Example: A manager in a software firm who can write and test code.
2. Interpersonal Skills:
These involve the ability to communicate with, understand, and motivate individuals
and groups.
Example: A manager who can give constructive feedback without harming the
working relationship.
3. Conceptual Skills:
These refer to a manager’s ability to think in the abstract and view the organization as
a whole.
Example: A manager identifying a new market for an existing product.
4. Diagnostic Skills:
These are the abilities that help a manager to identify problems and determine the best
solution.
Example: Understanding the cause of customer complaints and taking corrective
steps.
5. Communication Skills:
These involve the ability to convey and receive information effectively.
Example: Writing an informative email or listening carefully to team members.
5. Decision-Making Skills:
These refer to the ability to recognize problems and opportunities and select the best
course of action.
Example: Recognizing a mistake in a previous decision and taking steps to fix it.
7. Time-Management Skills:
These are the abilities to prioritize tasks, work efficiently, and delegate responsibilities
properly.
Example: Focusing on high-priority tasks and assigning routine work to others.
 Chapter 06
Basic Elements of Planning and Decision Making
1) Decision Making and the Planning Process
The planning process takes place within an environmental context. Managers must develop
a complete and thorough understanding of this context to determine the organization’s
mission and to develop its strategic, tactical, and operational goals and plans.

2) Organizational Goals
Purposes of Goals
Goals serve four important purposes.
1. Provide Guidance and Unified Direction
• They clarify where the organization is going and why it matters.
• They provide guidance and a unified direction for people in the organization.
2. Promote Good Planning
• Goal-setting practices strongly affect other aspects of planning.
• Effective goal setting promotes good planning, and good planning facilitates future
goal setting.
3. Motivate Employees
• Goals can serve as a source of motivation for employees of the organization.
• Employees often receive rewards or recognition for meeting goals.
4. Provide a Basis for Evaluation and Control
• Goals provide an effective mechanism for evaluation and control.
• Managers can evaluate what worked, what didn’t, and how to improve.
Kinds of Goals
Organizations establish many different kinds of goals. In general, these goals vary by level,
area, and time frame.

1️. Level-Based Goals

Organizations set goals at different levels:
• Mission:
A Statement of an organization’s fundamental purpose, defining what sets it apart and
the scope of operations.
Example: Starbucks – “To inspire and nurture the human spirit—one person, one
cup, and one neighborhood at a time.”
• Strategic Goals:
A goal set by or for top management of the organization, focused on broad, general
issues.
Example: Increase store profitability by 25% over the next five years.
• Tactical Goals:
A goal set by or for middle managers of the organization, focused on translating
strategic goals into actionable objectives.
Example: Decide store ownership models or geographic distribution.
• Operational Goals:
A goal set by or for lower-level managers of the organization, focused on short-term,
specific tasks to achieve tactical goals.
Example: Boost profitability of specific stores annually.

2️. Area-Based Goals

Goals vary by functional area within an organization:
• Operations: Improve productivity and quality.
• Marketing: Expand brand awareness or sales.
• Finance: Increase return on investment (ROI) or control costs.
• Human Resources: Reduce turnover, absenteeism.
• Product Innovation: Develop and launch new products

3️. Time Frame-Based Goals

Goals differ by the time period they cover:
1. Long-Term Goals:
Typically 10+ years at strategic level (e.g., open 150 new restaurants in 10 years).
2. Intermediate-Term Goals:
Usually 5 years, related to tactical planning.
3. Short-Term Goals:
Around 1 year or less, often weeks or days at operational level.
 3) Responsibilities for Setting Goals (Who sets goals?)
All managers should be involved in the goal-setting process. Each manager, however,
generally has responsibilities for setting goals that correspond to his or her level in the
organization.
▪ The mission and strategic goals are generally determined by the board of directors
and top managers.
▪ Top and middle managers then work together to establish tactical goals.
▪ Finally, middle and lower-level managers are jointly responsible for operational
goals.
▪ Many managers also set individual goals for themselves. These goals may involve
career paths, informal work-related goals outside the normal array of official goals, or
just about anything of interest or concern to the manager.

4) Organizational Planning
Kinds of organizational plans:
1. Strategic Plans
A general plan outlining decisions of resource allocation, priorities, and action steps
necessary to reach strategic goals.
• Created by top management and the board of directors.
• Focus on long-term goals, resource allocation, priorities, and competitive
advantage.
• Broad in scope and have an extended time horizon.
2. Tactical Plans
A plan aimed at achieving tactical goals, developed to implement parts of a strategic
plan.
• Created by upper and middle management.
• Have a medium time horizon.
• More specific and focused on how to accomplish strategic goals.
3. Operational Plans
An operational plan focuses on carrying out tactical plans to achieve operational
goals.
• Created by middle and lower-level managers.
• Focused on short-term, day-to-day activities.
• Narrow in scope and highly specific.
Time Frames for Planning
1. Long-Range Plans - A plan that covers many years, perhaps even decades; common
long-range plans are for five years or more.
2. Intermediate Plans - An intermediate plan is somewhat less tentative and subject to
change than is a long-range plan. Intermediate plans usually cover periods from one to
five years and are especially important for middle and first-line managers. Thus, they
generally parallel tactical plans.
 3. Short-Range Plans - Managers also develop short-range plans, which have a time
frame of one year or less. Short-range plans greatly affect the manager’s day-to-day
activities. There are two basic kinds of short-range plans.
• An action plan operationalizes any other kind of plan.
• A reaction plan, in turn, is a plan designed to allow the company to react to an
unforeseen circumstance.

5) Contingency planning
The determination of alternative courses of action to be taken if an intended plan is
unexpectedly disrupted or rendered in appropriate.
It means having a backup plan. If your main plan doesn’t work because something
unexpected happens, you can quickly switch to another plan.

6) Crisis management
The set of procedures the organization uses in the event of a disaster or other unexpected
calamity.
This is what a company does during big problems—like a fire, natural disaster, or major
issue. It’s a way to handle emergencies and get things back to normal fast.

7) Types of Operational Plan

 8) Barriers to Goal Setting and Planning

1. Improper Reward System

Sometimes people get rewards even when they set easy goals. Others who work hard
but miss big goals may not get rewarded.
2. Dynamic and Complex Environment
The world is changing fast with new technology and competition. This makes it hard
to plan for the future properly.
3. Reluctance to Establish Goals
Some managers avoid setting goals because they fear failure. They don’t want to be
judged if they don’t reach them.
4. Resistance to Change
People often don’t like to change old habits or plans. This blocks new ideas and better
planning.
6. Constraints
Organizations may face limits like not enough money, time, or strict rules. These stop
them from making or following good plans.

9) Overcoming the Barriers

1. Understand the Purposes of Goals and Planning

Managers should know that planning helps give direction, but it can't guarantee
success. Plans may need to change if situations change, and that’s okay.
2. Communication and Participation
Goals should be shared clearly with everyone involved. When people help make the
plans, they feel more responsible and motivated to reach them.
3. Consistency, Revision, and Updating
All goals must align with each other from top to bottom in the organization. Since
things change fast, goals should be reviewed and updated regularly.
4. Effective Reward Systems
People should be rewarded for both setting good goals and trying to reach them. Even
if a plan fails for reasons beyond control, they shouldn’t be punished unfairly.